Saniora Discusses with Suleiman Army’s Controversial Deployment in North

Al-Mustaqbal parliamentary bloc leader Fouad Saniora revealed on Wednesday that he discussed with President Michel Suleiman a day earlier the controversial deployment of the Lebanese army in northern areas bordering Syria.

“We discussed a lot of issues, including the government (crisis), the situation in the region, the economy, the deployment of the army in the North, the security situation and (verbal) attacks on the president and the premier,” Saniora told An Nahar daily.

Members of the March 14 coalition, which al-Mustaqbal is part of, have criticized a decision by the army leadership to deploy troops in northern areas bordering Syria, saying the move came at the request of the Syrian regime to search for armed men allegedly belonging to the rebel Free Syrian Army which is fighting the Assad regime’s troops.

The deployment of Lebanese army troops in the North is now being supported by the same group that rejected such an idea in the past, the Mustaqbal bloc leader said in reference to the March 8 forces led by Hizbullah and allied with the Assad regime.

On the government crisis that erupted after Suleiman suspended a cabinet session at the request of Premier Najib Miqati last Wednesday, Saniora wondered “how the government will function if different forces are pulling it in different directions.”

The former PM also told An Nahar that he visited ex-Premier Saad Hariri in Paris two days ago to inquire about his health following his ski accident.

Saniora said he discussed with him the preparations for the Feb. 14 rally that will be held in BIEL on the anniversary of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s assassination in 2005.

According to An Nahar, Saniora and other members of the Mustaqbal bloc will hold talks with army chief Gen. Jean Qahwaji on the deployment of the military on the northern border instead of towns and villages.